The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) appears to be ramping up its efforts in the run-up to the legislative and presidential elections by moving to integrate party lawmakers’ Internet resources with a team of young Web specialists trained at party headquarters, sources said.
Sources said the KMT’s Information Center was planning to open a portal to integrate party lawmakers’ personal Web sites and blogs into the party’s official Web site as part of an effort to optimize online visibility and Web marketing capability.
A number of pan-blue legislators said they recently received letters from party headquarters asking them whether they were interested in having their personal Web sites or blogs linked with the party’s main Web site. The letter also asked the legislators to recommend some of their aides for participation in Web marketing training courses offered by the party.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) confirmed the move was part on an effort to mobilize the pan-blue camp ahead of the elections by forming “a mutually beneficial relationship.”
“The Internet marketing training courses are to make up for our weak Internet presence,” Wu said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has a long history of cultivating a presence on the Internet, Wu said, adding that if the KMT wishes to catch up, it must adopt appropriate methods.
The direction taken by the party is the right way to go, Wu said.
Wu said he was confident in the KMT’s ability to build a presence on the Web, adding that members of the younger generations do not only want to frequent pan-green sites, but want to take a look at opinions on both sides.
For example, Wu said, young people aren’t just signing up to be a fan of DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her Facebook page, because many are also fans of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who recently launched his own Facebook page.
Wu said that while he couldn’t answer every post made on his own Facebook page, he tried to answer some questions every day and interject the party’s perspective for discussion.
“That way we will be able to increase our influence on the topics discussed on the Internet,” Wu said.
KMT Deputy Secretary-General Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said most pan-blue legislators had blogs and personal Web sites and that putting them under the party’s official Web site would make it more convenient for voters to browse through them.
“It helps party headquarters stay in touch with voters and that helps a lot with the party’s competitiveness,” Lin said.
Similar efforts were made ahead of the 2008 presidential elections, with many legislator candidates linking their personal Web sites with Ma’s campaign Web site.
However, most legislators’ aides said they were not too interested in these efforts, mostly because of their fears that this could undermine their chances of rising within the party.
A female aide said she was concerned the training course could lock them into permanent positions.
“Are we just another group of ‘on-line call-in takers’ or are we going to be admitted into the campaign group later on?” she asked.
One KMT aide said the number of legislators’ aides were limited and most were already busy with legal cases and helping voters, leaving them with little or no time to take the course. He also listed past examples of the KMT Youth League employing young people through the Web.
“It worked. We recruited many young people, but there just wasn’t any follow-up,” the aide said.
The pan-green camp is dedicated to maintaining its influence on the Web and with young people, the aide added, citing comments by former KMT legislator Shyu Jong-shyong (徐中雄) about the opportunities for development in pan-green organizations and doubts about the KMT’s ability to keep pace.
The aide said he had privately become a fan of Tsai and Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Facebook.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s written by Su himself or not. It’s written in the first-person, giving netizens the feeling that they are meeting Su face to face,” he said.
Most pan-blue legislators ask their aides to answer questions on the Internet, the aide said. Therefore, the party officials who need the most training are not the aides, but the legislators themselves, he said.
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